Article > Europe is ready for a common borders policy

SECURITY & DEFENCE

Europe is ready for a common borders policy

Spring 2010

by Ilkka Laitinen

Control of the EU’s external borders is improving, says Ilkka Laitinen, who heads the Frontex agency. But he warns that without a coherent Europe-wide approach to illegal immigration and cross-border criminality it will be of little use

Commentary:

by Jean-Pierre Maulny

Europe’s borders are both permeable and impermeable; the EU’s philosophy is that its external borders should be as permeable as possible to legitimate flows of passengers and goods, and impermeable to illicit activity. So, to better understand the challenges of border control we need to answer the question “permeable to what”? Border management mainly revolves around combating illegal immigration and the closely-linked problem of human trafficking. On top of that there is cross-border crime such as the smuggling of weapons, drugs and dangerous substances and the wider problem of terrorist activity.

These are, of course, challenges common to most countries around the world, but especially so in Europe because we are part of a novel experiment called Schengen. Some 29 countries, EU member states and associates are either in Schengen or in the process of joining. Its main feature is the mandated absence of internal border controls, and this creates an obvious need for strong external controls. Any challenge not met effectively at the zone’s external borders becomes a common, European one for all the countries in Schengen.

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The Schengen zone’s border security is therefore only as strong as its weakest link, and that’s why Schengen has dictated a shift of resources away from internal borders and a strengthening of external ones. It also led to the creation of Frontex, the EU border security agency responsible for coordinating member states’ operational cooperation.

Frontex is at the forefront in responding to all these European-level border challenges. Intelligence information of course comes from national authorities, enabling us at Frontex to do risk analysis and develop European-level situational pictures. We have uncovered smuggling and trafficking routes as well as new modi operandi being used by criminal networks. Frontex also guides and coordinates joint operations by EU member states’ border services, focusing them on border areas where they are needed most. EU governments are doing a lot to tighten up to support cooperation at Europe’s borders, but much more is still needed.

Inevitably, joint maritime operations are Frontex’s most visible ones because of the dramatic nature of search and rescue on the high seas. But while these naval operations are important, and take up the lion’s share of our budget, this is just one aspect of the challenge. At least half of arrests take place at land borders; air travel is by far the most popular route for irregular immigration to EU countries, and the vast majority of that is initially legitimate, involving people who have short-stay visas. Overstayers represent by far the biggest slice of all illegal immigrants in the EU.

Trends in illegal migration and cross-border crime are also far from stable. Of late there has been a distinct shift in the routes used by irregular migrants coming to the EU via the Mediterranean – with interceptions of boats moving steadily eastwards since 2006, from the Canary Islands (down 89% between the first and second quarters of 2009), via Malta and Lampedusa, to Greece (up 68% during that period). Poland, for instance, saw a sudden rise in asylum claims by thousands of Georgians in a matter of months last year, and air routes used by traffickers and facilitators can change in a matter of weeks.

Common to all crime – cross-border or otherwise – is what we might call the “hidden crime dilemma”; the hard statistics we have generally result only from what we detect. It is very difficult to estimate the extent of a problem you cannot see. We know how many suspected illegal migrants we detect at borders, but our estimates of the numbers who cross illegally and are not detected can, at best, be only approximate. The number of persons currently staying illegally in all the EU’s member states is often estimated at eight million, but no one really knows. Recent revisions of the methodology used to arrive at this figure suggest that it should be revised downwards around three million, but then again future methods of estimation may once more raise the figure.

What happens at the EU’s external and internal borders is not the whole story. Awareness of what is happening beyond the border, what happens inland, and cooperation between the myriad services and agencies involved in border control-related activities – particularly on gathering information and intelligence – is fundamental to improving border security.

The complexity and inter-connection of these various aspects of border control Is illustrated by return operations. In one sense, this is the end of the process of border control, when migrants have exhausted all legal avenues allowing them to stay in Europe and national authorities return them to their countries of origin. Frontex’s contribution is to coordinate join return operations by a number of member states working together. Apart from the obvious logistical and financial complexities of return operations, there are legal, political and diplomatic questions that are beyond Frontex’s control. Returns can only be made via bi-lateral agreements with receiving countries, are made on the basis of national legislation, cost a great deal of money and are potentially very sensitive to political developments. The outcome of these return operations also has considerable and immediate impact on immigration routes and the modi operandi of people traffickers.

However effective it may be, border control is only part of the puzzle. How individual member states deal with illegal immigration can differ very widely. Detention periods for undocumented immigrants can range from 18 months in one EU country to just a few days in another. The demand for work, asylum or refugee status also varies from country to country, for a variety of reasons, some which we are only now beginning to understand. The lack of a common EU immigration policy together with the different practices of national authorities have an immediate feedback effect for border services, because not surprisingly traffickers and other criminals adapt their own methods to the policies and practices of individual member states.

At a European level then, it is fair to say that the challenges are considerable, to some extent unknown and change constantly in nature and form. The policy response must therefore be as informed, flexible and forward-looking as possible. The European Commission and Council have recognised this and have, besides the creation of Frontex, put in place a number of legal and financial measures, and new technologies to enhance the EU’s collective response.

We also now stand at an important policy cross-roads. The Lisbon treaty has entered into force, allowing for much better inter-agency cooperation on all matters affecting border security. The Stockholm programme together with the EU internal security strategy will determine EU Justice and Home Affairs policy for the next few years, including border security. And, thirdly, a change to Frontex’s mandate is being considered that would allow the agency to become more efficient and intelligence-driven.

Then there are new technological solutions either in place or very soon to be so. These include the mandatory use of biometrics to promote security of documentation (ePassports), biometric visas (under the Visa Information System) that will become a reality during the course of this year, and the Automated Border Crossing systems that are already in use in many EU countries. A key innovation will be the European Commission’s forthcoming proposal for a much-needed European Entry/Exit and Registered Traveller system. EUROSUR will also soon become the focal surveillance and intelligence instrument for all national authorities and agencies.

Although all this is encouraging, all the signs are that mobility will increase in the future, with even more business and leisure travel, and quite possibly more refugees and more irregular immigration. The problem also risks being further aggravated by political and social unrest in neighbouring societies as well as longer-term problems like climate change.

The EU’s borders are by definition permeable, and we need to make them more permeable still to legitimate border crossers because our economic development depends on it. But we must also make them less permeable to illicit users. Integrated border management is just one part of a much larger problem that requires an overall strategy if we are to meet it. Intercepting illegal migrants or cross-border criminals is all very well, but if there is no coherent and uniform method of dealing with them afterwards in an efficient, effective and humane way, then effective border control is of little use.

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